1911 Coolbaugh Curtiss Pusher in flight (3 min 57 sec)

I'm a bit fascinated by this aeroplane. Dunno why, it's just "interesting".

Anyway, I've flown bipes and I've flown canards ...but I've never flown a model which has both types of stabiliser. Wondering whether it has any idiosyncracies or particular problems.

Have any of you chaps ever flown one of these?

I remember in my youth, when the Beatles started, that Cox Thimble Drome made a ready-to-fly plastic model of the Curtiss Pusher powered with a Cox Thimble Drome Babe Bee and a beautiful old style pusher propeller. Well, it was not exactly ready to fly, you had to assembly it but not build it. It was a commercial failure but a very interesting model!!! I suppose that if there are any available, they must cost a small fortune!!

Hmm. There is a plan for a Curtiss Triad on the Outerzone.

This is a floatplane ... and the plan is fairly basic. Still, there's enough info upon which to base a "something-like" design.

I think those types of planes tend to make you feel more like "flying free like a bird" than the modern planes do. I wonder if they had to use a helicopter as a chase plane or not, as it doesn't fly fast. Maybe too slow for a regular fixed wing plane.

Truely amazing ...

Siddus74

Ive started the Pusher from plans I got from Arizona models,

working on the 60 ribs now

Rumor has it that Curtiss crashed once and busted the front stabilizer off. He decided to fly without it, and the plane flew better.

Originally Posted by Maineiack

Ive started the Pusher from plans I got from Arizona models,

working on the 60 ribs now

It'd be good to hear your opinions, as the build progresses.

I've heard that rumor about Curtiss removing the forward elevator before. It seems that several other aircraft of that era had both forward and rear elevators, which made them very sensitive in pitch. As did Curtiss, some pilots and designers disabled the front elevator and found the pitch sensitivity much reduced. That should be a consideration for a model airplane of that type.

Jim R.

yup, read that too, ill be making it without the foreword elevator,

only 43 to go

I think they called them the Curtiss "headless" pushers when the front canard was left off. Supposedly they made a number of them that way too.

Interesting note is that it was a Curtiss Model D pusher that made the first landing on a ship too, and that was in 1911. Also someone else was the first to take off of a ship in 1910 using a Curtiss Pusher too.

yes your right, also I believe, it was the first airplane with ailerons
as Curtiss got into a sqabble with wilber and his brother and re-designed to the Pusher

gettin there

Originally Posted by Edubarca

I remember in my youth, when the Beatles started, that Cox Thimble Drome made a ready-to-fly plastic model of the Curtiss Pusher powered with a Cox Thimble Drome Babe Bee and a beautiful old style pusher propeller. Well, it was not exactly ready to fly, you had to assembly it but not build it. It was a commercial failure but a very interesting model!!! I suppose that if there are any available, they must cost a small fortune!!

They DO cost a fortune. I have given up on owning one. But then my head will never be printed on any stamp neither.
Here's a picture of a Renwal ' Fabulous Flying Machine Kit's ' Curtiss Golden Flyer, not sure if that's the same airplane ? This Renwal airplanes are paper-covered. I do have the complete series of these Renwal's, built by a deceased old friend. He had over 5000 built plastic airplane kits !

Halfway there